Remarks by H.E. Mohamed Tawfik Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Australia     Before The International Relations Society at the Australian National University     12 October 2006     Ms. Shuyin Tang, President of the ANU International Relations Society Mr. Alessandro Antonello, Education officer of the ANU International Relations Society Distinguished members of the ANU International Relations Society, Ladies and gentlemen,    It gives me enormous pleasure to have this opportunity to exchange views with such a distinguished group at a time when my part of the world is passing through profound transformations and when regional issues have come to carry global implications. Developments in the Middle East are no longer followed exclusively by the experts, but figure prominently in public debates.   To contemplate Egyptian foreign policy in our rapidly changing world, one cannot avoid the interplay between change and continuity.   Historically, Egypt having established a strong centralized State very early on, has been a force for regional stability. Khufu’s great pyramid was humanity’s first feat of cooperation that involved the collective efforts of hundreds of thousands of people over many years, demonstrating the possibilities for advancement of societies during prolonged periods of peace. Even at times of empire, the emphasis was laid on establishing steady supplies of resources rather than territorial expansion. Ramses II, the empire builder, was also party to the first peace treaty in recorded history with king Hattusil III of the Hittites.   Also, a discussion about foreign policy is by definition an exploration into how nations are profoundly affected by events outside their borders. Such a discussion in the twenty first century cannot possibly avoid an expression of awe at the speed with which boundaries are dissolving and the extent to which the distinction between the external and internal domains is rapidly blurring. This may be accompanied by either opportunities or vulnerabilities. Usually they come hand in hand.      Egypt’s most pressing and direct circle of interest is, naturally, our geographic neighbourhood. But our neighbourhood is as varied as it is extensive, for Egypt lies at the intersection of three continents.   The great Nile is the umbilical cord that links Egypt to the heart of Africa. The Mediterranean is the historic highway that ties Egypt to Europe. The Red sea the mysterious route to faraway lands, Punt, Serendib, the lands of East Asia. The Sinai peninsula remains the bridge to the Middle East, and the Sahara, provides a network of routes to both Northern and sub-Saharan Africa.   First and foremost, Egyptian foreign policy today, focuses on the achievement of peace and security in its region. Indeed, the Middle East is plagued by a number of critical and explosive situations that threaten not only the region’s own peace and security, but the security of the international community as a whole. These problems range from politico-military conflicts to socio-economic pressures, driven by poverty and deprivation, some result from the new requirements brought upon by the push towards globalization. They also relate to trends that have recently surfaced and that touch on what has been labelled by some as a “clash of civilizations.”   Of those problems and issues, certainly the most persistent and far reaching in its impact is the Arab-Israeli conflict. A peaceful settlement is an essential condition to achieve security, political stability and development in the region and to allow maximum utilization of our capacities to modernize and develop our societies.   We are confident that all the peoples of the Middle East yearn for peace. The Arab peace plan proposed by king Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and adopted by the Beirut Arab summit in 2002 and reconfirmed by subsequent summits demonstrates the collective will of all Arab states without exception to live in peace with Israel within the framework of a just and permanent settlement. Moreover, there is an arsenal of international and regional instruments that spell out the requirements of such a comprehensive and lasting solution.       Egypt, after achieving peace with Israel in 1979, has made a huge investment in the drive to bring the parties directly concerned to the negotiating table. This regional role is neither a luxury nor a gift. It is entrenched in historic, geo-strategic and pragmatic imperatives.   For a number of years now, the Israeli-Palestinian track has been suffering from a cycle of violence. The current political and humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people is intolerable. The international community must become actively involved. The situation requires serious efforts by all sides. There are three priorities that need to be addressed:   Firstly; it is essential to prevent further deterioration and escalation, this includes a stop to Israeli bombing and incursions and exerting every effort to reinstate a cease-fire. Helping the Palestinians to resolve their internal debate and form a government of national unity and to deal with the issue of prisoners. Naturally, this includes giving a sense of hope to the Palestinian people, by resuming foreign assistance, allowing free passage of people and goods across and providing a secure passage between Gaza and the West Bank.       Secondly, we must ensure that the political process moves forward. The full implementation of the Road Map, namely the fulfilment of the goal of two States living side by side in peace and security, requires some clear thinking. It is essential to spell out the principles and the shape of the final settlement. What has been happening so far is that the first stages of the roadmap have not been fully implemented and thus it has proved impossible to proceed. Today, the two peoples need greater clarity, to renew their hope, to rebuild momentum.   Thirdly, we must widen the circle of our efforts and work on reinitiating the Syrian and Lebanese tracks. The recent Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the enormous human suffering and devastation it brought about, has demonstrated the futility of using brute force to resolve this conflict. There is no question that peace in the Middle East will neither be comprehensive nor lasting without a just resolution on all tracks.   Iraq is, undoubtedly, a critical issue in the region. We believe that an independent, sovereign, united and democratic Iraq has an important role to play as an Arab country and a Middle East player. We support the Iraqi people and government in their efforts to achieve this objective and put an end to the foreign military presence, leading to the stability of Iraq and the region. We agree with those who stress that preserving the unity of the Iraqi people has never been as crucial as it is today.   Another example of a political process that is taking off in our vicinity is provided by Sudan. The relations between Egypt and Sudan are historic and vital to the wellbeing of both nations. Egypt has been a strong supporter of the process of reconciliation in Sudan, and a great defender of Sudan’s unity and territorial integrity for the common benefit of its people. The terrible humanitarian situation witnessed in many areas of that vast country, and most recently in Darfur, can only be exacerbated by political strife.   While providing all the humanitarian assistance within our means, we have been actively involved in bringing about political accommodation between the different parties in Sudan. With the establishment last year of a new government that unites old foes we were at last hopeful that Sudan was on its way to healing its wounds. However, in Darfur, the situation is far from resolved, the Darfur peace agreement has yet to be implemented, and the humanitarian situation is a matter of grave concern. Dialogue between the Sudanese government and the United Nations has become vital to agree on the best way to implement Security Council resolution 1706.    In addition to Egypt’s involvement, often at the summit level, in promoting and following up the political process in Sudan, we have committed Egyptian military personnel to the African Union Mission in Darfur, and a contingent to the UN peacekeeping force in the South.   This is a particularly critical period for Sudan. We welcome the extension of the mandate of the African Union Mission which gives us an opportunity to intensify our efforts. An international commitment to the implementation of the Darfur peace agreement is essential. In concrete terms, a number of steps should be taken immediately:   Get the parties who have not signed the Darfur peace agreement to do so. The Sudanese government should start a Darfur-Darfur dialogue with UN assistance, and start a promotional campaign on the ground to gain consensus behind the peace agreement. Start reconstruction projects in an international- regional partnership with the Sudanese government, to create an environment conducive to stability and development. All parties should desist from making confrontational statements or taking rigid positions. Indeed they should   adopt dialogue as a means of resolving the situation.      All over the Middle East one of the prerequisites for peace and stability is the issue of disarmament. Peace in our region will not be durable or complete if we do not create a situation where equal security for all is guaranteed at the lowest level of armament, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The highest priority in this regard must be given to the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, without exception for any State or for any weapons system.   Egypt has called since 1990 for the establishment of a Zone Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East. I must underscore that applying “double standards” in this regard will not guarantee any party’s security, but may, on the contrary, fuel an arms race that will endanger regional and international peace and security.   Our position on regional disarmament, is part of our overall vision for universal disarmament. On Monday, North Korea carried out a nuclear weapons test explosion. Egypt categorically rejects all nuclear explosions and any other step that constitutes a threat to international peace and security. This situation demonstrates the importance of achieving the universality of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.    Egypt is a member of the New Agenda Coalition, a group of countries very active in the field of nuclear disarmament. We have been for many years one of the leading advocates for the demilitarisation of outer space and have called for a role for NGO’s in disarmament fora in order to involve international public opinion in a debate that will ultimately affect our common future.    The issue of global terrorism and the ways and means to combat it has come to the forefront in the past few years. Last month, the UN General Assembly adopted a comprehensive strategy to tackle international terrorism. It is now incumbent upon the international community to implement this strategy.     For many years, some western governments have dealt with our region through an extremely narrow scope. This scope considers the region as a source of problems that should be kept within the region's borders. Dealing with root causes was never on the international agenda. Our partners in the international system are only now realizing that the process of globalization has made it impossible to geographically contain such profound conflicts.    Our approach to terrorism must rest on a number of pillars that tackle several elements in concert and in parallel. Focusing on the security aspect of the problem or a head-on military confrontation against the perpetrators of crimes of terrorism, while necessary, is ineffective on its own.   In parallel with enhanced security measures, all nations must work together to address the “root causes” that have driven young men and women towards extremism and that have led them to translate their extremist ideas into such heinous acts. In so doing, we cannot ignore that, in the case of Middle Eastern extremists, regional problems especially the Arab-Israeli conflict and situation in Iraq, have been the fuel that has fomented anger and frustration and in turn, extremism and militancy.   The Palestinian and Iraqi problems; the socio-economic pressures of globalization as well as the issue of combating terrorism have all had a deep impact on relations between the Arab and Muslim worlds on the one hand, and the West on the other.   While the ideas put forward by a number authors in the 1980’s and 90’s such as Francis Fukuyama and Samuel Huntington have met substantive intellectual and academic criticism, they seem to somehow reflect strong and dangerous trends of people-to-people tensions along cultural and religious lines.   Mutual misperceptions and misunderstandings between the Arab-Muslim world and the West represent an increasingly dangerous new security challenge that we must all address urgently. It is no longer exclusively an issue for experts and theoreticians. It is quickly becoming a foreign policy consideration.   Some in the West have often ignored that the peoples of the Arab and Muslim worlds are proud of their religions and cultures. Our peoples make a clear distinction between modernization and Westernization. They want to embrace modernity while preserving their cultural identity. But there is a perception that the West is relentless in its attempts to penetrate their civilization, that it will use all means to do so. These may be misperceptions or oversimplifications that mirror growing anxieties about loss of identity in many societies, both developing and developed, but they have given extremists the opportunity to present themselves as defenders of the region’s independence and protectors of the Islamic world’s identity.   The voices in the West that take advantage of public anger over terrorist attacks to spread racist rhetoric and preach intolerance towards all Muslims only encourage radicalisation. Indeed, intolerance feeds intolerance.     While Western countries must deal with the issue of double standards, we do not deny the necessity for countries in our region to redouble their efforts to achieve the aspirations of their own peoples. Reform and development in the region is essential. We consider a number of European and American initiatives that support reform efforts in the Middle East to be a healthy sign. We welcome any hand that is extended in friendship and on the basis of mutual respect. Everybody accepts, however, that reform should stem from within societies; it can never be achieved through ready-made imported patterns.   While taking serious strides towards political reform and ensuring respect for human rights at home, Egypt has been an active contributor to the formulation of human rights norms and mechanisms internationally. It is a well-known fact that an Egyptian was among the original group who drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. We have continued to contribute from our own cultural and human perspective to the promotion of human rights. As we support respect for political and civil rights, we also promote the economic, social and cultural rights of societies, especially the Right to Development adopted by the United Nations' General Assembly years ago. An Egyptian currently chairs the committee that deals with the Right to Development in Geneva. Last year, we introduced a new much needed resolution in the Commission on Human Rights on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.    In the broader issue of dialogue among cultures, Egypt is particularly well suited to play a moderating role. With roots embedded in Ancient Egyptian, Coptic Christian, Islamic, Arab, African and Mediterranean cultures, our society provides living proof of the fallacy of the arguments of those who preach hate on religious and cultural grounds. As Egyptians we pride ourselves in being home to two of the world’s leading religious institutions, Al-Azhar, the world’s oldest university and a center for learning the tolerant values of Islam, and the Coptic Church of St. Mark, the second church to be established in Christendom after the church of Jerusalem and one of the world’s oldest continuously functioning institutions.       A founding member of the United Nations, the Arab League, the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Egypt has been in the forefront of those calling for a more equitable and democratic multilateral system. We have welcomed calls for a reform of the United Nations that would make it more effective in meeting the challenges our world faces today.   We also welcome much needed reforms in the Security Council to make it more representative of current realities and to limit the abuse of veto power. We feel that Egypt's contributions to the regional and international arena, its efforts within the African, Arab and Islamic forums and its key role in the Middle East and within the developing countries and emerging economies as well as its support to the United Nations and its peace keeping missions qualify Egypt to membership of an enlarged Security Council.    The United Nations system, including the International Financial Institutions and the specialized agencies must be more attuned to the development needs of the majority of the world’s nations. Rich countries can no longer afford to be indifferent to the needs of the developing world. Issues such as refugees, immigration patterns, the environment, the spread of infectious diseases and of course terrorism are trans-national by their very nature. Globalization has created islands of prosperity in developing nations, but has also brought the developing world to the heart of rich countries. The ongoing process in which the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting more desperately poor serves no-one’s long-term interest. The excesses of Davos are being challenged by the rainbow coalition of Porto Allegre. A middle way must be found.      Trade has become a major concern in all countries’ foreign policies. Egypt is no exception. Having established free trade arrangements with the Arab, Eastern and Southern African countries and the European Union, we are an active participant in the multilateral trade negotiations of the WTO. We will continue to try to reform the lopsided trading practices of the developed countries. The Doha round initially coined as “the development round” is in critical condition due to lack of flexibility among many developed countries towards the requirements of the developing world. We hope this will change soon.   Another of the new but vital Foreign policy concerns for all countries is that of water resources. Egypt’s lifeline continues to be the river Nile. A longstanding dialogue with the other Nile basin countries has led to the establishment of the twelve-member Nile Basin Initiative. It is a forum for cooperation and coordination in water resources development and represents a forward-looking approach to avoid any possible misunderstanding or conflict.   This is but one example of the sub-regional, regional and continental cooperation that is being fostered in Africa. Indeed the transformation of the Organization of African Unity into the African Union represents an important step in our continent’s evolution. Despite the many problems facing Africa, Egypt believes that through our collective efforts it will be possible to build a better future for all Africans.   It seems suitable to conclude on this note. The way forward can only be through enhanced understanding and cooperation among nations and cultures. The world faces unprecedented opportunities but also new types of challenges that no nation, no matter how powerful, is capable of overcoming on its own. Egypt will continue to play a leading role to promote the kind of cooperation that is required for a more democratic and just international system.